The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday’s events as they unfold.
Russia confirms taking in ex-Syrian president: ‘Breaking news! Bashar al-Assad and his family in Moscow’
Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow with his family after Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds, a Kremlin source tells Russian news agencies, adding that a deal has been made to ensure the safety of Russian military bases.
Earlier today, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that Assad had left Syria and given orders for a peaceful transfer of power, after rebel fighters raced into Damascus unopposed on Sunday morning, ending nearly six decades of his family’s iron-fisted rule.
“Syrian President Assad of Syria and members of his family have arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds,” the privately-owned Interfax news agency and state media quote the unnamed Kremlin source as saying.
Interfax cites the same Kremlin source as saying Russia favors a political solution led by the UN to the crisis in Syria, where Moscow supported Assad during the long civil war.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, writes on his Telegram channel: “Breaking news! Bashar al-Assad and his family in Moscow. Russia does not betray friends in difficult situations.”
Syrian opposition leaders had agreed to guarantee the safety of Russian military bases and diplomatic institutions in Syria, the source tells news agencies. But some Russian war bloggers say the situation around the bases was extremely tense and the source does not say how long the security guarantee lasted.
Moscow, a staunch backer of Assad whom it intervened to help in 2015 in its biggest Middle East foray since the Soviet collapse, is scrambling to salvage its position. Its geopolitical clout in the wider region and two strategically important military bases in Syria are on the line.
Cabinet members rally behind call to delay Netanyahu’s graft trial testimony after collapse of Syrian regime
Almost all of the members of the security cabinet have petitioned Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to delay the start of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s testimony in his graft trial, given the recent fall of the Syrian regime and the ongoing war in Gaza.
Ynet news reports that all ministers apart from Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Defense Minister Israel Katz have signed the letter, penned by Shas chair Aryeh Deri.
“For over a year, Israel has been in an ongoing, multi-front security event, which, as is well known, began with the brutal massacre by Hamas terrorists,” on October 7, 2023, Deri reportedly writes to the attorney general.
“In the past week alone, many significant events have occurred in the security and political arena, some of which are known to the general public and some of which are still classified. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a fateful time for the State of Israel, one of the most fateful times we have known.”
He asserts that at this time, the prime minister should be focused entirely on “natural interests” and that giving testimony will block him from fulfilling that duty.
Netanyahu is currently scheduled to begin his testimony in an underground room in the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
The opposition has accused him of trying to indefinitely push off his potentially damaging testimony. The testimony comes after a series of delays stemming from the war against Hamas in Gaza and, until last week, against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Report: Netanyahu planning to attend Trump’s inauguration in January
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to attend US President-elect’s inauguration in Washington on January 20, Channel 13 news reports.
The television station quotes a source in the Prime Minister’s Office as confirming that the trip is under consideration, though “no final decision has yet been made on the matter.”
Netanyahu is due to begin giving testimony on Tuesday in his criminal trial, which would need to break to allow for the trip, the report notes.
US, Mideast allies working to destroy chemical weapons that belonged to Assad regime — senior Biden official
The US is working with Mideast allies to secure and destroy chemical weapons that belonged to the recently collapsed Assad regime in Syria, a senior Biden administration official tells reporters.
“We are taking very prudent measures about this [and] doing everything we can to ensure that those materials are not available to anyone and are cared for… We want to make sure that chlorine or things that are far worse are destroyed or secured. There are several efforts in this regard with partners in the region,” the senior US official says in a briefing.
The official doesn’t specify, which countries are involved in the effort, but Israel has reportedly been targeting chemical weapon facilities in Syria over the past several days.